Why is everyone so hard on ...
Question: Why is everyone so hard on
Studio 60? After seeing a few episodes, I went and watched the entire series of
The West Wing. A lot of the jokes and even some of the lines and conversations are the same. So why was one worshiped and the other so disrespected? Why do people expect one to be the same as the other? Why does everyone keep saying the characters are poorly developed, blah, blah, blah? It's television! It's not supposed to be real. It's supposed to be funny, dramatic and entertaining. You want "real," then watch the news!
Answer: The problem isn't that
West Wing fans wanted
Studio 60 to be the same — I think we were all hoping for something new and fresh. The problem is that too few people seem to find the show to be "funny, dramatic and entertaining," although clearly there are a number of loyalists who are still charmed by what they see. I seem to hear from them every week. (Jessica's certainly wasn't the only e-mail I got in the wake of
Monday's attacks.) I'm sorry to say I've given up on
Studio 60's prospects for self-improvement, but I keep watching in the way you do a train wreck.
The West Wing managed the rare trick of being about something, in this case a romantic vision of public service, while also bringing a cast of impossibly glib and verbally adept characters to life with warmth, wit and class. After a promising start,
Studio 60 soon lapsed into preachiness and preciousness, and despite an accomplished cast, the characters have steadfastly refused to come to life. Maybe that will improve with the upcoming episode that flashes back to the start of Harriet and Matt's relationship. It certainly couldn't get worse. As for the charge that "it's television" and thus "not supposed to be real," that again misses the point. When it comes to a show with this kind of pedigree, high expectations come with the territory.
Studio 60 simply has failed to deliver.
